


Paranoia

by Doteruna



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Facial Hair, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mental Breakdown, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Paranoia, Paranoid Character, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Kylo Ren, Violence, but only for a second
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-25
Updated: 2017-11-06
Packaged: 2018-08-10 22:26:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7863604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doteruna/pseuds/Doteruna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Starkiller is destroyed, Snoke takes his anger out on Hux's mind as punishment. Kylo decides his allegiance lies with his General and flees the First Order, Hux in tow, but must learn to care for and protect this new Hux.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the link to the picture that inspired the whole thing: http://orig03.deviantart.net/27ca/f/2016/068/1/9/ceasefire_fanart_01_by_brilcrist-d9uk4il.jpg

"Bring him to me for...punishment." 

Kylo knew that the Supreme Leader's punishment wasn't going to be anything pleasant. Still, the tortured screams that echoed down the halls of the Finalizer were a surprise; he'd expected Snoke to use the Force to get into Hux's mind and cause some anguish, but nothing that would cause noise. Most personnel were avoiding the nearby rooms and corridors for the two hours since the screams started, but there were stormtroopers required to make their rounds in front of the door that Kylo stood next to. He could sense their extreme discomfort and what could be considered sympathy, and they hurried past as fast as they could. 

Another piercing shriek cut through the air, and Kylo didn't flinch, but he came close. He'd steadfastly kept his mind out of the room he was guarding, not wanting to interfere with Snoke's punishment. In addition, he and Hux weren't anywhere near friends; they co-commanded the Finalizer together, but their relationship was filled with snide insults and icy glares. He didn't really care for Hux (truthfully, he didn't) but he didn't want Snoke to kill him. Who else would yell at him over a decimated control panel? Phasma? Not even she was so brave. No, Hux needed to live. 

Steeling his resolve, Kylo turned and opened the door panel, finally allowing himself to access the swirling Force inside the room. 

He nearly toppled over. Rage, fury, hatred, fear, agony, and a million other vibrant emotions bashed into him, filling his ears with static and making his vision blurry for a moment. Snoke's physical voice was silent, but Kylo could hear him through the Force clear as day; loathsome insults, shameful slurs, reminders of past failures brought to light. Hux was kneeling in the center of the room underneath Snoke's hologram, leaned forward with his hands clutching his temples and his forehead pressed to the smooth metal floor. He was screaming, still, after several hours, his voice hoarse and jagged, tears streaming down his red face and mixing with the blood dripping from his nose. 

"Ah, Kylo. Come to see the show?"

"Supreme Leader, what--what is your goal?"

This actually made Snoke stop his ministrations for a second. 

"My goal, Kylo, is to instill a sense of fear over our dear General. Though, not General for much longer, I presume. It appears that he does not understand the magnitude of his failure with Starkiller; he failed me, and so he must bear the consequences."

Hux was whimpering on the floor now, pitiful little moans slipping from his mouth as he panted. Kylo risked a glance at the pale figure before looking back at his Master. 

"It's been hours, Supreme Leader. He's learned."

Snoke's hologram sat back, eyes sharp.

"Kylo Ren, Master of the Knights of Ren, telling me that someone has had enough punishment? Why speak up for this weak, pathetic man? He's allowed a failure the likes of which we haven't seen since the fall of the Empire itself. He doesn't deserve respite."

"It's been hours, Supreme Leader, I--"

"Silence!"

The word was punctuated with a strong wave of power, making Kylo's knees go weak before he steadied himself. Hux let out a low groan of pain, finally laying on his side, locks of dull red hair falling into his eyes. Snoke towered over them, gnarled hands gripping the arms of his throne tightly. He studied Kylo for a still minute, the Knight barely even breathing as he stared back at his Master. 

"Fine. Take him back to his quarters for the night. Tomorrow, kill him and dump his body into the nearest sun." 

The hologram cut out, and Ren fell to his knees next to Hux, blood running through his veins like ice. His gloved hands stretched out to grab Hux's shoulder, and the shorter man yelped in pain as Kylo rolled him over. His nose and ears were leaking thin blood, and his eyes were hazy and unfocused, staring at the ceiling. He was trembling, and the harsh, insufficient lighting only made the hollows of his cheeks stand out more, giving him a skeletal appearance. Kylo swallowed and hefted the body up, and Hux staggered but stayed on his feet. 

Mentally sweeping the nearby hallways, Kylo waited until there was no chance of running into any troopers or officers before leading Hux out of the comm chamber, hustling him towards the General's quarters. They were almost to the door when Hux's fingers tightened around Kylo's bicep. 

"They're here, Ren."

"What?" Kylo asked, staring down at the thin man. 

"They're here."

"Who?"

"Everyone. No one. All the people who hate me. They know I'm here. They know they can get me."

Kylo pushed Hux into the man's quarters and guided him to the bed, bewildered. 

"They want me dead. She wants me dead. You want--Ren, do you want me dead, like everyone else? All the things in the world that hate me?" Hux wriggled feebly under Kylo's hands, trying to scoot further away on the bed, eyes narrowed in suspicion. "I'll have to kill you. Before you kill me. Before the ghosts get me. Before I get me."

"No, I don't want you dead," Kylo said, trying to soothe the startled man. "You're not talking sense, Hux. Calm down." He reached forward with a small cloth to wipe away the blood on Hux's face, but the man twisted away. 

"You do! The ghosts do! All the voices say they do! The voices are everywhere, Ren, they're in our clothes and our ears and they live in our heads. In your heads. Why do you have so many heads?"

Hux teetered perilously and Kylo was finally permitted to touch him, pushing him gently down onto the spartan bed and tugging at his boots. Whatever Snoke infected Hux's mind with, it was doing a number on him; Kylo couldn't even get into his surface thought patterns to discern what was going through the General's mind. Craziness, for sure, but Hux's little speech was freaking him out.

"Hux, you can sleep now. I'll come get you in the morning."

"All right, Ren, you can leave. I'll see you tomorrow. No, that's too formal. Good night, Ren. No. Too casual..."

While Hux rambled, Kylo pulled one glove off and touched his fingers to Hux's temple, accessing his mind for the first time. Again, he felt a physical backlash, but this time, all he could feel was confusion. Hux's mind was usually ordered and lightning fast, able to keep up with the literal thousands of things he needed to devote his attention to at any one time to command the Finalizer. Now, it was as if his brain had been tossed into an airlock and allowed to spin to space; thoughts whirled and clashed, fear and pain spiking randomly as disembodied voices shouted and yelled at him. There was not a single clear thought and Kylo couldn't find a trace of the old Hux beneath all the terror and suspicion swamped inside his cranium. 

Pulling back, Kylo bit his lip, the skin stretching uncomfortably around his scar. Snoke had ordered him to kill Hux for his failure, but...

There was no way he could.

Hux was the only being on board the ship that dared challenge him. He was snarky and demanding, and didn't put up with the shit that even Kylo knew was childish. Hux was also understanding, able to connect with Kylo due to a similar load of pressure and expectations placed upon both their shoulders. He was Kylo's sole source of entertainment for the past several years, and during the occasional meal they shared, it could even be said that they behaved like friends. 

Not that Kylo Ren had friends. Heavens, no. 

But Hux was damn close to one. 

Just then, Kylo's comm unit went off at his hip, and Hux jumped so hard at the mechanic chirp that he hit his head on the wall. Kylo's fingers went to his head immediately to soothe the pain, and with a jolt he realized that if he didn't kill Hux, he'd be defying Snoke's orders. 

And he was okay with that. 

With Hux's mind in such alarming disarray, and Kylo's loyalty already torn between Snoke and Hux, his determination to stick with the First Order was waning. If Hux's death was a part of staying with the Dark Side, Kylo wanted no part. 

 

 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

"You need to eat."

"What if it's poisoned?"

"I'll try some first."

Kylo sipped some soup from the spoon before pushing the bowl towards Hux, the chipped ceramic sliding across the old wood. Hux eyed it distrustfully before following suit and levering a small helping into his mouth. His hand shook after a few bites and Kylo gently took the spoon from him, setting it down in the bowl. "Let's go sit outside."

Scarif was a beautiful planet. It was mostly uninhabited but for some natives and small colonies, but was typically considered a neutral ground for the First Order and Republic. Outside of their small hut was a vast forest, filled with friendly flora and fauna that Hux liked to interact with one days he was aware. Every once and a while, his mind would go offline, regressing back to the point where he couldn't speak or move on his own, just dumbly followed Kylo's gentle instruction. Today seemed like a good day; Hux was able to sit on the porch in the sunlight and not have a nervous breakdown. One of the local mammals fell asleep at his feet on the bench, a furry creature that made a soft rumbling sound of enjoyment whenever Hux worked up the nerve to touch it. 

Today, Hux was having a good day; he was speaking in full sentences, even if they were only coherent half the time. He recognized Kylo, which didn't always happen, and he was even eating the food set out in front of him. Hux had actually gained weight since leaving the Finalizer; he was not in any way fat, but he had lost the gaunt look that being in space 95% of the time gave some people. His hair was longer and he had a full beard because he only allowed scissors near him once in a blue moon; he was far too paranoid for that. 

Kylo watched Hux through the window from inside for a few moments before turning back to the table, cleaning up after them. Hux wasn't doing better, per say, as he still couldn't write or speak for more than a few sentences without getting too nervous. His mind still played tricks on him, his kicking and thrashing waking Kylo up at night from their shared bed in nightmares. Kylo was always there to hush him and soothe him, but sometimes there was just no reasoning with the insane general. 

"The sky shines."

"Yes, I'm sure it does," Kylo hummed distractedly, putting away the ingredients he used to make lunch and dismissing it as one of the hundreds of random things Hux said a day. 

"No, it's a part of the sky. It's bright."

"It's called the sun, Hux."

"No, it's a ship."

"Then it's a cargo sh--"

"Battalion freighter, model SSU-5203C, with advanced surveillance power."

The plate Kylo was washing fell to the floor and shattered as he sprinted to the front doorway.

"What did you say?"

"It's a First Order ship. They're here. Ren, they're here for me. For me, for me, for me. I have to hid. We. We have to hide from...me." Hux began to ramble on, and Kylo grabbed his arm and yanked him inside, disturbing the small fuzzy creature from the porch. 

"Go to the room. Grab your bag, the one I show you every week. We're leaving." Hux didn't move, just faced the wall and kept mumbling, so Kylo pushed past him and into their bedroom, where there were two small duffel bags tucked away into a corner. Hoisting one onto his own back and helping Hux put on his, Kylo started to lead them back to the front door before a distant explosion rocked the ground. "Stay here."

Kylo moved into the shadow cast by the doorway just in time to see a small puff of black smoke some hundred meters away, the explosion itself hidden by the trees surrounding the cabin. There were shouts before two groups stumbled into the large clearing, firing wildly at each other. One group was clearly First Order, white stormtrooper armor glinting in the late afternoon sun as Republic troops tried to find cover. It was clear that they didn't expect anyone to be living nearby because both sides stumbled to a halt once they saw the cabin, but then continued fighting. Kylo watched three Republic troops go down before gritting his teeth and flinging his arm out. 

The seven stormtroopers left were flung high into the air before being smacked back down to the ground with sickening crunches. The Republic troops spun to look at him, but Kylo was already running though the house, grabbing Hux's arm and dragging him through the back entrance on the opposite side, into the forest beyond. He heard several of the troopers yell, but none fired, and the two fled into the trees. 

 

After nearly twenty minutes of running, Hux was gasping, unused to such physical exertion. The sun was going to fall soon, but the planet was well lit even at night by two moon, so Kylo removed a heavy blanket from his pack and wrapped it around Hux's shoulders to keep the man warm. 

"Hux, are you okay? Can you speak to me?" Kylo asked, bending down to look Hux in the eyes. The smaller man looked away, one clammy hand coming up to hold the cloak closed as he leaned into Kylo's chest for warmth. "We need to keep going."

Hux didn't answer, and Ren sighed. Hux was retreating inside himself, his eyes dark and lowered. Ren just wrapped an arm around him protectively and kept going.

Over an hour of walking later and they were reaching a thinner part of the forest. Night had almost fallen, their path lit only by waning light. The nearest town was still miles away, but if they could just outrun whatever Republic forces came after them--

"Ben." 

Kylo stopped, his heart skipping a beat. He looked over his shoulder to see a small group of people several meters behind him.

Chewbacca. His Uncle Luke. That scavenger from Jakku. FN-2187 and the pilot he had left the First Order for. 

Well, he couldn't fault him. He left the First Order for Hux. 

"Ben," his uncle called again. "Please, wait."

Kylo turned halfway, so that his body hid the bulk of Hux's. 

"I--I don't want to fight you. I just...Uncle, I just want to keep him safe."

"Who is it, Ben? Who do you want to keep safe?"

Kylo turned fully so that his uncle could see the man burrowed into his side, head tucked into Kylo's neck and one hand on the cloak, the other holding Kylo's hand. As soon as the dulled, shaggy red hair came into view, Chewbacca gave a low growl, but Luke raised a hand in silence. 

"Is that...General Hux?"

Kylo swallowed. 

"Not anymore." He looked down at Hux, taking in the full beard and the pale skin, the tired shadows under his eyes and the lifeless, weary look they held. "Not after what Snoke did to him."

"Is that why you left, Ben? To keep him safe from the First Order?" Luke sounded so sincere, so ready to understand, that Kylo swallowed hard and nodded. 

"You can't hurt him. I don't want to fight you, but I'm going to keep him safe." He regretted his decision to leave his saber aboard the Finalizer all those months ago. 

"You don't have to fear us. Nobody hear wants to fight you. We only want to help."

"What's wrong with him?" Rey asked suddenly, taking a step forward. Immediately, Kylo tensed and swept the unresponsive Hux into his arms, ready to run. "No, sorry, wait, that's not what I meant to do. I just want to understand, to help you, like Luke has helped me."

"Ren, the First Order put a price on your head. We know you aren't with them anymore. We can help you," Dameron said quietly. "Honestly."

"We might be able to help Hux too," Luke said. He slowly moved forward so that he was only a few feet away, his blue eyes soft and open. "Please, Ben. We've been looking for you for so long. I miss you. Your mother misses you. Chewie misses you."

The Wookiee gave a forlorn howl, and Kylo glanced over nervously, his fingers tightening around Hux's shoulders and knees. He'd known Chewbacca since birth, and the Wookiee was without a doubt his first friend. He trembled, then looked at Rey's sincere blue eyes and the sympathetic expressions on Dameron's and Finn's faces. They showed no hatred or judgement, just sympathy and hope. 

"I..."

Luke looked at him steadily, waiting for his answer. 

"You have to promise, Uncle Luke. Promise me no one will hurt him. He's all I have." Luke nodded solemnly. 

"You have my word, Ben." 

Ben Solo stumbled forward into the waiting arms of his uncle for the first time in over a decade, sobbing as he held tightly onto Hux. 

Hux, who reached up with a shaking hand and wiped away the tears from Kylo's cheeks.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Decided to add some more after a year

It had been months. 

The days had passed rather quickly, and Kylo was grateful for it. Grateful for all of it, really. His uncle had offered him safety, comfort, and peace during a time he’d been fearful of just about everything. Having a pale shadow that followed you everywhere and was intensely paranoid tended to have that effect on you, Kylo mused, as he led Hux down the corridor to the mess hall.

They were on a New Republic outpost on a somewhat sizable planet called Enarc, located in the Mid Rim and close enough to several star systems that it made a good diplomatic meeting ground. Luke, as a Jedi and peace keeper, travelled to many systems with the hope of furthering the New Republic’s reach and expanding their list of allies. It was wooded and mild, and had a plethora of local fauna to keep Hux occupied. Kylo would never have pegged the former General to be an animal lover, but then maybe he hadn’t been. Hux was very different now. 

“Watch them,” Hux said as they entered the mess hall. It was past the usual breakfast time, so it wasn’t crowded, but the traitor and the pilot were sitting at a table, deep in conversation. 

“Watch who?” Kylo asked, even though he knew exactly who.

“The cooks. The cooks, the cooks, the cooks,” Hux repeated, stepping up to the automated machine that delivered food from the equally automated kitchen. Only robots were involved in the process, but that never deterred Hux. 

“They’ll poison me,” he muttered as Kylo stepped beside him to order from the machine. “Poison you. Us. You. Kylo, don’t let them poison you.”

“I won’t,” Kylo assured him, taking the trays that appeared from a slot in the wall a few feet away. He started to walk towards an empty table, only to realize that Hux was heading directly for the pilot and his partner.

“You!” Hux cried, slamming his palms down on the table across from Dameron. “Is this your doing?”

Dameron looked up lazily, meeting the other man’s eyes. 

“Nope,” he said after a moment, popping the ‘p’. “We’re friends now, remember?”

Hux squinted at him before pushing himself against Kylo’s side, never looking away from Poe. 

“I’m hungry,” he said, staring at the tray in Kylo’s left hand. “What if it’s poisoned?”

Kylo sat down at the table and arranged the trays in front of them, waiting for Hux to sit as well.

“I’ll try everything before you eat it,” he said, just like he does every meal. Hux nods and waits for Kylo to take a small bite of each part of the meal before tucking in, ignoring the other three men.

“It’s a good day, I take it?” Finn asks, taking a bite of his own breakfast. “He’s talking.”

“Yes, no episodes for a few weeks now. He might be improving.”

“Will he ever be the same?” Finn demands, a little too harshly, and Kylo locks eyes with him even as Poe grabs his boyfriend’s arm. “I mean it. I know I’m not supposed to know everything about him, but I want to know if he’s going to become the same man he once was. He was a murderer, Ren, he killed so many people--”

“It’s Ben, now, you know that,” Poe whispers, and Kylo starts. 

He forgets, sometimes. He’s so used to referring to himself as Kylo that it’s easy, his old name slipping away like the wind or one of Hux’s coherent thoughts. Luke, his mother, almost everyone insisted on calling him Ben. Only Hux called him Kylo. It was a struggle to separate himself from the power and memories of the name ‘Ren’, one he worked through every day. The Dark Side was still strong in him, and always would be; there was no way he could abandon years of pain, torture, and the chilling strength of the Dark Side. 

But he could see the power of the Light now. The Dark Side would have taken Hux away from him, and that was unacceptable. The Light Side might have a way to heal Hux, to bring his mind back from the edge of insanity. The Light gave him a home and a family, when the Dark Side offered him only the cold of space and the opportunity to kill.

“I’m sorry, Ben,” Finn actually did look sincere. “It slipped out. I’m just worried about what will happen if Hux does fully recover--I don’t want him to be a vegetable for the rest of his life, but if you ask me, he’s better now than before. He’s not a danger to anyone like this.”

“I didn’t ask you,” Ky--Ben ground out. He opened his mouth to say more, but closed it. Luke said he needed to be more open in his thinking. If he tried, Ben could see how Finn’s fears were well founded. The man had been a stormtrooper, an expendable infantryman who was a pawn to officers like Hux. He’d heard the man give orders to kill, and burn, and slaughter, without a pause. To see such a powerful, terrible man ripped from such a position must be a relief.

“I just...he’s broken. He was a bad person before, that’s true. But he was good too. He cared for those he was close to. He dealt with me for years. He had a cat. And now it’s all…” Ben trailed off, waving a hand in Hux’s direction flippantly. 

“It’s better than having a mass-murderer or a brilliant supporter of the First Order, you can’t deny that, Ben,” Dameron finally spoke up. “But I’ve lost friends before. I know how it feels. I hope he gets at least a little bit better, for you.”

“Thank you,” Ben said, dipping his head briefly. Dameron was a man he could respect, and he knew it couldn’t be easy for the pilot to be making casual conversation with the man who scrambled his brains like eggs for a few hours during an interrogation. Dameron was clearly about to continue, but stops as Hux drops his fork.

He’s staring off into the distance, his eyes unfocused and hazy. His hand is still slightly raised from where he’d been trying to bring a mouthful of food to his lips, but the fork slipped through his weak fingers onto the table. He isn’t moving, is barely breathing, and Ben swore quietly.

“Hux, can you hear me?” he said, wiggling his fingers in front of Hux’s face. Nothing. “Damn. Thought we might be through with this.”

Every so often, Hux’s fear of the world overwhelmed him. The first time he’d become unresponsive, Ben had freaked out. It had been only a few hours after he’d accepted Luke’s desperate plea to come home. They were all packed into a small shuttle, heading for their main ship, and Ben had Hux still wrapped in his arms because he was feeling to protective to let him go. Hux had been wiping at the tears on his cheeks when his hands just dropped, and his already dulled eyes had gotten even darker. Ben had wondered if Hux’s paranoia wasn’t unfounded, if Luke had found a way to kill the man in his arms. He’d yelled and raged, threatening everyone in the shuttle until Hux shifted only a moment later, yawning and starting to pick at a stray thread on his cloak. Since then, Hux would have these episodes every so often, the length varying from a few minutes to a memorable three days. 

“Can’t Luke, ya know, see his brain or whatever?” Poe asked, taking a long sip of his drink. “Like you did with me?”

“Only the Dark Side can violate someone in such a way,” Ben murmured, taking his napkin and dabbing at the corner of Hux’s slack mouth. “And it’s always painful.” 

“But Rey said she looked into your mind,” Finn said. “What about that?”

“She has more Light in her than Darkness, but it’s there,” Ben said grimly. “And she just traveled the opposite way along the path I’d used into her mind, she wouldn’t be able to do it herself.” He stood, grabbing both his tray and Hux’s. “Would you watch him while I dispose of these?”

Poe nodded and went back to his meal, so Ben walked across the mess hall to dump the trays in their receptacle. He turned and headed back to the table, only to see Poe and Finn frozen, a horrified expression on their faces. 

“What is it? What did he do?” Ben nearly yelled, grabbing Hux’s shoulders and spinning him around to face him. 

“He--he said--” Finn stammered. 

“Supreme Leader,” Hux whispered, his eyes bright with awareness but chewing on his lip viciously. Ben felt his heart drop into his stomach. “He’s here. He’s going to find me. He’s going to get me. Find, find, find me. Bad. I was bad, he punished me…” He glanced up and caught Ben’s wide eyes. “He’s in my head, Kylo. I feel him punishing me.” He kept whispering, and Ben looked over to see Poe talking quietly into his comm and Finn halfway around the table and approaching them, one hand on the blaster he kept at his side. 

“What’s he saying?” Poe asked, standing as well to wave away the other people in the mess hall, who were watching suspiciously. “Is he...back?”

“No, definitely not,” Ben shook his head as Hux grabbed at his own hair and yanked, starting to curl in on himself as his whispering got louder. 

“He’s here, Kylo, he’s in my head!” he yelled, clutching his temples as if he was in pain. And maybe, Ben realized, he was. 

He reached out and let a whisp of the Dark Side spill from his fingertips, taking consciousness from Hux as he had Rey all those months ago. The redhead slumped forward into his arms just as the reinforcements Poe had called entered the mess hall, headed by Luke.

“I felt a surge in the Dark Side,” his uncle explained as Ben hefted Hux into his arms. “What happened?”

“I think Snoke was in his head,” Ben said, quietly enough that only Luke, Poe, and Finn could hear. “Maybe tracking him. He was in pain, like he had been when Snoke...before I…”

He trailed off, but Luke just nodded and gestured towards the door. 

“Let’s get him to the medical bay, just in case. I’ll contact your mother and tell her what’s going on.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Definitely focused on Kylo this time. I'm also running on three cups of coffee and two of tea and nothing else, so it's not the best but I wanted to get it out there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One part was inspired by this pic: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8Nbg_0SvU7g/maxresdefault.jpg Thank you to whoever drew this, it's lovely.

After a week of suspense and fear, Ben was beginning to relax. Hux had woken from his forced slumber after a few hours and had been his usual broken self, fixating on one of the small, furry creatures the base kept as pets. No strange ships had been spotted, no transmissions intercepted, no Super Star Destroyers hanging above them. It seemed as though Hux had simply fallen victim to the shattered pieces of his mind once more, startling everyone but posing no real threat. He stayed on the same track of slowly improving, remembering who Ben was all the time and not having any episodes. 

Ben, too, was improving. For a few weeks now he’d been training with Luke to calm the Dark inside him and give the Light more life, more freedom. It was hard work because after years of associating the Force with hatred, anger, jealousy, and rage, using calmer feelings like serenity and peace was odd and left him unsatisfied after their meditations. 

Luckily, Rey was just as useless at controlling the Light as he was. Sure, she was very powerful and had a staggering amount of natural talent, but the same was true for him. She had no training, no refinement, no grace with the Light, and being on the same level as her gave Ben the drive to master the Light before her. 

“You always did have a competitive streak,” Luke chastised him gently as they finished their last meditation for the day. Rey stretched from her seat on the cushion beside him, her lightsaber bunching the fabric. Luke had actually gifted Ben with the parts he’d need to create his own saber weeks ago, and while Leia had been very vocal about how she felt about that particular action, Luke had been nothing but supportive. 

“He knows the Light is the true path, Leia,” Ben had overheard him saying to his mother the same day he’d received the parts. “He ran from the First Order and the Dark Side for love. He’s one of us, and I trust him.”

Since that day, Ben spent at least two hours in one of the bases training rooms, practicing with his new saber. His old saber had been crafted with ancient Sith technology, forming a violently powerful but incredibly unstable saber. The crossguards had been a necessary function to let out excess heat, but he’d adapted them into his fighting style, and now he had to learn to fight without them. Luke was a bit old to spar with him, but not too old to demonstrate, so Ben and Rey were instructed on how to fight and left to their own devices. Ben, of course, was a much better opponent because he’d had nearly two decades of sword fighting, while Rey was experienced with a staff. 

Despite their differences, sparring was fun, and it gave Ben a break from constantly watching over Hux. He didn’t mind taking care of the shorter man, truly; he didn’t mind doing whatever was necessary because Hux was safe now, and that was his top priority. But Luke, Poe and Finn would volunteer to sit or walk with Hux if the man was so inclined. Usually, he preferred to sit with Luke in a corner of the training room, but sometimes he’d go with Poe when the man tugged on his sleeve. 

Today was one such day. Poe and Finn were taking Hux on a walk through the gardens on the base, and Ben was sparring with Rey, but Luke had urged them to practice outside because the weather was agreeable. They were in a small courtyard by the landing bay where the ships were kept, and since the area was mildly crowded Ben suspected Luke wanted to show them off. Nobody came into the courtyard itself, but there were no walls or plants to keep them hidden, and Ben could even see Hux and the two lovebirds wandering through the garden about a few feet behind him on the other side of the ships. 

Rey was dressed for the weather in a light top and soft pants, the plasteel chestplate and bracers thrown over her clothes. Luke insisted she wear it, even though the practice sabers they used only left a slight burn that disappeared after a day or so. They each wore their real sabers on their belts, but training sabers were used most of the time. Ben was wearing a heavier long-sleeved black tunic and thick pants, completed with a pair of sturdy black boots. He didn’t wear any armor because it was rare for Rey to land a real hit, and he felt that the plasteel was cumbersome and useless because it wouldn’t stand up to a blaster hit, so why wear it during training? 

He regretted that decision as soon as the first blaster bolt ripped through his side, leaving a trail of fire on his skin. 

He fell to the ground, not in pain but stealth, as stormtroopers poured into the area from the surrounding woods. The Republic troops were already moving, several pilots taking aim from behind their ships and more coming from inside the base’s buildings. Luke was pulling Rey behind a nearby shed, and Ben quickly scrambled over, using the small bushes as cover. 

“You’re bleeding!” Rey gasped, but Ben just unclipped his saber from his belt, peering around the corner to see what was happening. 

“I’m fine,” he said as watched two full squadrons of troopers emerge from the trees. Nearly a hundred, and there could be more on the way. At least they couldn’t hear the whining of TIE fighters yet. “Fifty troopers are by the ships, and fifty are on the other side of the main building. There’s probably more on the way.” 

The rapid discharge of several shots made him stiffen and whip around, searching the area for Hux. Poe had just mowed down the three troopers that were making a break for the well they were hiding behind, a small stone thing in the middle of the waist-high garden that wasn’t large enough to cover three grown men. 

“Ben, go to them,” Luke directed. “Rey, help the pilots over here. I’m going to the other side of the building.” Ben nodded and was about to move when there was a concentration of fire on the shed they were hiding behind. “They know we’re here.”

“Wait till they’re shooting for me, then run,” Ben commanded, then sprinted out from behind the shed. He heard Rey yell his name but was too busy deflecting fire with his saber to pay attention. The steady hum of his saber was a comforting noise as he flipped and slid to avoid the bolts he couldn’t block with his blade, withholding the urge to use the Dark Side to stop the bolts in their path. It only took him ten seconds of sprinting to slide behind the well, but one bolt had grazed his lower leg,leaving a deep gash through his calf. 

“I need to get to my ship,” Poe said, breathless from exertion. Finn was propped up on the well, taking careful aim with his blaster and likely hitting a trooper with each shot. Hux was on the ground, covering his head with his eyes shut tight. 

“I have to get him inside,” Ben replied, gripping Hux’s arm tightly. “I can give you cover to get to your ship, but then I have to get him to safety.” Poe nodded and began to run for his nearby ship, and Ben Force pushed or deflected bolts into the troopers that noticed him. Finn was picking off any troopers that got too close, and the bulk of the squadron was being pushed back as more reinforcements came from inside the base. Ben waited for Poe to climb inside his X-wing before hauling Hux to his feet, dashing for the closest building. 

Halfway there, there was a massive surge in Dark energy, and Ben skidded to a stop. There was a lull in blaster fire as a lone figure emerged from the treeline, menacing for all their singularity. Even the Republic troops stopped firing as the dark-clad individual moved closer, hood drawn over their face. Tall, slim, but striding forward with the grace of a predator, Ben realized who they were. 

The newest Knight of Ren. He’d never been told her name, but she was a fierce Zabrak who had a reputation for malice. She stalked closer to the courtyard, and for a second, Ben was foolish enough to think she might not notice them. She was angled away from them, but it only took her a moment to turn and raise one hand, a single finger pointing them out. 

All the troopers turned to Ben and Hux, regardless of the Republic troopers in front of them, and began to fire. 

His yellow blade flashed as he pushed Hux behind him, shielding him with his body. With nearly twenty troopers firing on him and a rapidly approaching Knight, he was at a loss of how to keep Hux safe. He began to back up, pushing Hux towards the building with his shoulders as the Republic troopers continued to fire at the stormtroopers, slowly taking them down. 

Ben was able to push Hux at such an angle that the door to the building was directly behind them, but they were still nearly twenty meters away. The Zabrak was marching her way across the courtyard, lightsaber out but not yet activated. They weren’t going to make it. 

“Ben!” Finn yelled, sprinting out from behind a nearby ship. He darted behind Ben, behind the protective radius of his lightsaber, and started to drag Hux towards the building. Ben continued to deflect blaster bolts back into the stormtroopers until the Knight was only a few meters away, and the troopers ceased their fire. 

The familiar crackle of an unstable blade filled the air only a fraction of a second before the plasma came whizzing down, missing Ben’s head by millimeters as he dodged. His own blade was up in a parry instantly, and they dueled harshly and very, very swiftly. The Knight was fast and smart, delivering swipes with her talon-tipped gloves while the other hand wielded her saber. But Ben was no novice to pain, and he was able to respond with cruel punches and kicks when he could. But the Knight was wearing metal armor under her black cloak, and her helmet made it impossible to read her face. 

A brutal slash of claws made him stagger, one hand going to the sudden blood on his shirt, only a few inches below where the first blaster bolt had hit him. He was forced to duck and roll out of the way of her blade, but she kicked out with her heavy boots and caught his temple. Vision blurring and ears ringing, he tried to roll out of her way, but he could see her crimson blade raised to finish him off as his saber tumbled from his loose grasp.

Then, a blaster bolt struck her directly in her chest and she staggered back, grunting. Ben pushed himself to his elbows as Hux skidded into the dirt next to him, Finn’s blaster in one hand and Ben’s saber in the other. While the Knight recovered from the impact of the bolt, Hux wrapped the arm with the blaster under Ben’s armpits and heaved, lifting him high enough that Ben could throw his arm out and unleash a powerful Force shove, knocking the Knight back onto her ass. Hux was still pulling him up, and Ben took his saber from the man’s hand and pushed him towards the building. 

“Go! Get inside!” he yelled, but Hux just snarled and yanked on his arm.

“Not without you!” he shouted back, but then his eyes widened. 

Ben spun around to block Ren’s blade as she hissed at him, raising her arm in Hux’s direction. Ben snapped. 

The Dark Side he’d been trying to repress surged to the surface, hurling the Knight backwards as he straightened fully. The troopers began to fire on him again, but Ben ignored them as he stalked forward, brutally attacking the Knight who was still climbing to her feet. He blocked her strike with his lightsaber and delivered two solid punches to her ribs, uncaring of the pain as his Force-strengthened strikes punched through her armor. He spun and used the momentum to kick her away, then let the Force rise in him again to grab her by the throat and lift her high into the air from meters away. 

 

Luke and Rey had finished fighting their battles and had been moving towards Ben’s side of the compound when they saw Finn dragging Hux towards the building. Hux had looked back at Ben and dug his heels in, snatching the blaster from Finn’s surprised hands and running back towards the fight. Ben had been on the ground and they were too far away to do anything, but Hux had taken aim and hit the Knight in her armored chest just in time to save Ben. Then the Knight recovered from the shot and the Force push, and Luke was almost close enough to help when the Knight threatened Hux. 

Luke had never been so happy to have an ally with the Dark Side. The Knight may be powerful, but Ben had far more strength in the Force than anyone present. Ben knocked the Knight to the ground, then broke through her armor, then knocked her down again. The Force rippled through the air and Ben strode through the middle of the courtyard, arm outstretched, blaster bolts frozen in midair all around him. The Knight was suspended several feet off the ground, gurgling, as Ben approached. The stormtroopers were frozen in place, their bolts sizzling motionless in the air, while Luke, Rey, and Republic troops flooded the area. 

“You dare threaten him?” Ben snarled, tightening his Force grip. The Knight choked and gasped. “You dared to fight me, to try to kill me?” He slammed the Knight into the ground, lifted her back up, and slammed her down again. “You’re weak. You can’t muster the strength to questions Snoke’s orders like I did. You’re a failure.” Lightsaber left on the ground, the Knight reached behind her for a blaster, but Ben waved away the bolt with a flick of his fingers. “And you will pay for trying to harm Hux.” He hurled her against the ground once again, releasing his Force-grip on her. And that time, she didn’t get up. 

Luke surged forward as soon as he knew it was safe, Rey on his heels. The blaster bolts that Ben had frozen were all directed into the ground, and the man crashed to his knees. Finn ran over, followed by Chewbacca, but Hux was already kneeling by Ben when they got to him. 

“Idiot,” he was repeating as he put pressure on the bleeding gashes in Ben’s abdomen. “Stupid. Protected me. Idiot.” 

“I’ve called for a medical team,” Finn informed them. Luke nodded and moved to the Knight, who was out cold but alive. They had the means to restrain her, and he’d gotten word that the pilots who were able to take off had cleared out the small group of First Order ships in the atmosphere. The attack was over, and Ben had saved them all.


End file.
